Lebanon Concert Spotlights Divide Over Syria

On Friday night, some two thousand people packed an open-air stadium in the Lebanese coastal city of Jounieh for a concert that included acts like the Korean pop star Psy.

“Let’s go party Lebanon,” Psy shouted when he took the stage — sending the crowd into a frenzy of clapping and dancing as he performed his worldwide hit song ‘Gangnam Style’. An encore drew more cheers with several teenagers joining the pop sensation on stage.

Surprisingly, the concert took place only a day after a massive car bomb killed about 20 people and injured dozens more in the southern suburbs of Beirut, a Hezbollah stronghold and home to the Shiite group’s headquarters. Sunni militant groups are increasingly targeting Hezbollah because of its steadfast support and military assistance to Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad.

The government in fact had called for a day of national mourning on Friday to commemorate the civilian victims of the attack. But Lebanon remains split over the issue of Syria. And the difference of opinion — over supporting or opposing Mr. Assad and whether Lebanon should engage or sit out the raging war next door, is only deepening the rifts within various sects here.

In a way, the concert on Friday embodied these divisions. Jounieh, a Christian city between the hills of Mount Lebanon and the waters of the Mediterranean, seemed a world away from Beirut and not just about 10 miles apart.

The Lebanese capital itself was tense and eerily quiet on Friday. Residents were not flocking to nightclubs and restaurants, and some events like street festivals were also canceled.

In contrast, the bars and restaurants along the winding coastal road of downtown Jounieh were packed. The concert had the feel of a street fair with vendors selling beer, popcorn, hamburgers and doughnuts. In the VIP section of the concert, guests lounged on sofas and smoked hookahs.

“We came to the concert because we love life. We are very happy the concert happened because we need to go on with our lives,” said Charbel Kayrouz, a 32-year-old Christian computer engineer, attending the concert with his wife.

When the presenter of the concert told the audience he regretted holding the event on a national mourning day, they replied with loud “boos”.

“The explosion is Hezbollah’s fault. They should stay away from Syria,” said a 24-year-old woman named Nadia, who didn’t give her last name.

The producer of the concert, Jean Saliba, said he tried to cancel the event out of respect for the victims but none of the vendors and suppliers providing the stage, light and security agreed to give him a refund.

The concert however didn’t go as smoothly as he had hoped. The biggest act–Algerian star Cheb Khaled–canceled the day before the event because of security concerns after the car bomb, said Mr. Saliba.

Psy himself had landed in Beirut an hour before the explosion and after hearing the news wanted to turn around and fly out, said Mr. Saliba. “We begged him to stay, putting him at a hotel far from Beirut and telling him it was really safe,” said Mr. Saliba as he mused on how war, and losing money, is always a risk in Lebanon.